OUR BEST FRIENDS

Tag: michelle

While, as you can see above, the First Lady quickly seized control of the situation, the Second Dog got in a little trouble yesterday at a White House Christmas party.

Sunny Obama, the second Portuguese water dog the Obamas adopted, was part of a minor incident in which, by most reports, the one-year-old dog’s over-friendliness caused a party guest, 2-year-old Ashtyn Gardner, to fall over.

Sunny, adopted in August, jumped up on the toddler during the 2013 White House Holiday Press Preview.

The moment – not the worst violation of etiquette to ever take place in the White House, but maybe the cutest — was captured by Associated Press photographer Charles Dharapak.

Michelle Obama hosts the party every year, unveiling the White House’s holiday decorations with families of military service members.

Ashtyn, both of whose parents are in the Navy, was attending the party with her father, John Gardner, who later said that Ashtyn was fine.

Sunny reportedly apologized right after the incident by licking Ashtyn’s face, and both Sunny and Bo, the Obama’s first Portuguese water dog, were allowed to remain in the room afterward.

The Washington Post said Sunny “bounded into a State Dining Room full of children dressed in sparkly shoes and lacy dresses and headed right for little Ashtyn Gardner, 2, from Mobile, Ala. All of a sudden the blond girl with ringlet curls … was down on the rug. …

“Are you okay?” said a concerned Obama, mom-in-chief, tugging back on Sunny’s leash. But there was no need for damage control. Before Ashtyn could answer, she was back on her feet and Sunny was licking her face. All seemed well again, and the kids from military families could get back to frosting cookies and making paper poinsettia flowers with the first lady, crafty projects that have become a part of the Obama holiday traditions.

The Associated Press also avoided saying Sunny made contact with the girl, reporting Ashtyn “lost her balance and dropped to the carpet when Michelle Obama led the leashed puppy (a separate handler held Bo) into the State Dining Room…”

The dogs, in addition to attending the fest, also are a large part of its theme. Two life-sized replicas of the Portuguese water dogs, made from black satin ribbon, are on display, and miniature versions of them, made of chocolate, are part of the annual gingerbread White House display.

When Kathy Wilkes-Myers of Love Me Tender Animal Rescue found a Rottweiler on the side of a highway in Tennessee, she immediately got the feeling the dog belonged to somebody — she wasn’t as timid and untrusting as most abandoned dogs.

“I could just tell right away she was somebody’s baby. She just didn’t act like a stray dog to me,” said Wilkes-Myers, who found the dog a few months ago, emaciated and drinking from a drainage ditch along the road.

Wilkes-Myers suspected there was more to the dog’s story, and began doing some detective work.

She returned to where she found the dog, and found the first clues - broken glass and tail lights. Not far away she found a pile of personal items — a toothbrush, comb, razor, and a candle with “Michelle” written on it — that had been gathered, apparently by the dog.

“It was like she was sleeping with them – or waiting with them,” Wilkes-Myers told Steve Hartman of CBS News.

It was then she remembered driving by a bad accident on the same stretch of highway, two weeks earlier. A car had flipped over and landed on the side of the road, crunched up so badly she was sure there were no survivors.

But it led her to wonder — might the dog have been in the car?

When the highway patrol told her the names of the victims — including a mother named Michelle, the pieces came together.

Ella apparently spent 13 days scavenging for food along the highway – and 13 nights bedding down with whatever she could find that smelled like her lost family, Hartman reported.

Wilkes-Myers also found out that all five members of the family survived the crash. After two weeks believing that their dog, Ella, had died, the Kellys got the good news and were reunited with their dog.

Because of their medical expenses, the Kelly family has had to relocate to temporary housing that doesn’t allow dogs, but Wilkes-Myers has promised to keep Ella for as long as they need.

President Barack Obama’s daughters have settled on a pup — a six-month-old Portuguese water dog they’ve named Bo.

The dog is a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who owns several Portuguese water dogs. The Washington Post reported the story first in its online editions Saturday night.

“Bo’s a handsome little guy. Well suited for formal occasions at the White House, he’s got tuxedo-black fur, with a white chest, white paws and a rakish white goatee,” the Post reported.

The black-and-white puppy is is scheduled to make his public debut Tuesday.

Obama’s daughters chose the name Bo because first lady Michelle Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, after singer Bo Diddley, the Post said.

White House aides told The Associated Press that the office of the first lady arranged an exlusive deal on the dog story with the Post. They said the dog was not in the White House as of Saturday evening.

Celebrity Web site TMZ.com also reported Saturday that the Obamas would get a black-and-white Portuguese Water Dog from the same lineage as Sen. Ted Kennedy’s pets. TMZ said the six-month-old pet was named Charlie. Instantly, FirstDogCharlie.com went online.

Obama promised his daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, a puppy during the campaign.

According to the Washington Post report — you can find a version of it here — the family met the dog a few weeks ago at a secret White House session:

“The visit, known around the White House as ‘The Meeting,’ was a surprise for the girls. Bo charmed the first family, a source who was there said. He sat when the girls sat, stood when the girls stood. He made no toilet errors and did not gnaw on the furniture. Bo has, after all, been receiving lessons in good behavior from the Kennedys’ dog trainers. These lessons have been taking place at a secret, undisclosed location outside Washington.

“When the president walked across the room during the visit, Bo followed obediently.”

President-elect Barack Obama and family have narrowed their choices for first pooch, and are leaning toward a Labradoodle or Portugese water hound, according to an exchange on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

Stephanopoulos: “What kind of a dog are we getting and when are we getting it?”

Obama: “They seem to have narrowed it down to a Labradoodleor a Portuguese water hound.”

Stephanopoulos: “A medium-sized.”

Obama: “Medium-sized dog, and so, we’re now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up.”

Stephanopoulos: “So, you’re closing in on it?”

Obama: “We’re closing in on it. This has been tougher than finding a Commerce secretary.”

Obama said his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, had decided they wanted a medium-sized dog, and that they also wanted a shelter dog. Their choices of dog breeds are limited because because of Malia’s allergies.

Barack Obama — on top of all the other history he made last night — may have been the first president-elect to mention a dog in his election speech.

“I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.”

A Discovery Channel blog says the “brief puppy mention may represent the first time that an animal has been referenced in a presidential victory speech. If not, use of the word ‘puppy’ would certainly seem to be a rarity.”

Acknowledging his family’s contributions to his campaign, Obama brought up the promise he’d made earlier to his daughters — to get a dog once the campaign was over — and indicated he planned to make good on it.

The family has said they plan to adopt a shelter or rescue dog.

Joe Biden may be adding a dog to the family as well.

He told reporters traveling with his campaign earlier that his wife had promised him a “big dog” if he got elected, according to Reuters. That promise was made in connection with his presidential campaign, but Biden said his wife later said it would apply to a vice-presidential victory as well.

Jill Biden had taped pictures of different dogs on the back of the seat in front of him on his campaign plane to inspire the candidate as he criss-crossed the country in the final sprint to election day.

Michelle Obama pledged on Entertainment Tonight this week that, once the presidential campaign is over, the family — first or not — intends to adopt a dog from a shelter.

The Obamas’ promise to their children that they’d get a dog, once it became public, led to three animal welfare organizations and thousands of petitioners urging them to adopt a dog, rather than buy a purebred from a breeder or pet store.

PETA, Best Friends Animal Society and the Humane Society of the United States had all publicly urged the Obamas to adopt a dog.

“Senator, no one needs to tell you that this country is proud to be a melting pot and that there is something deeply wrong and elitist about wanting only a purebred dog. Millions of Great American Mutts â€” the dog that should be our national dog â€” are set to die in our nation’s extremely overcrowded pounds and shelters for lack of good homes. When you are ready, please adopt a homeless pound puppy,” PETA said in a letter to Obama.

Best Friends says more than 50,000 signed its online petitions urging the Obamas to adopt a rescue dog.

“The Obama family’s decision to adopt will be a great example, and will result in many dogs and cats being saved from euthanasia across the country. This is exactly what we hoped for when we launched obamafamilydog.com and we hope you feel as proud as we do about this development,” Best Friends said.